Today is a very special day. My mom would have turned 62! It is hard for me to believe that this time last year she was here. Yes, we were all grappling with the recent news of her diagnosis at the time (she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer on February 13, 2009), but she was with us. We celebrated her birthday last year with dinner at her house followed by her choice of angel food cake and strawberries. What a sweet sweet memory to hold on to! I’m thankful for it!
While thinking about my mom’s birthday this week, it brought back a very fond memory from when we were growing up as kids. For our birthday dinners she would make us feel extra special by letting us use her beautiful china dishes! I always felt so fancy on these special occasions! Every now and then you’ll even catch me drinking something as simple as water from my own china glasses just for fun! (You should try it sometime…turn your ordinary day into a fancy one! ha ha) I can’t wait to pass this tradition along to my kids…I think I’ll just wait a few more years until the whole throwing things from the high chair has passed!
Last night I went back through several old photos my mom gave me and found this one! I wish she was in it with me, but I thought it would be fun to share anyway. I’m not sure how old I was but you can see how pretty the table looked with her china! Oh, and it reminded me of a couple more things. She always had a candle burning on the table. And she would also break out a bottle of the finest sparkling grape juice! This was like over the top fancy to me! What a great mama! (This is a picture of a very old picture (well, not VERY old…I’m not THAT old after all)…hope you can see it okay.)
Jake and Joanna 
What a fun memory you have of your birthdays growing up. I love the fancy china idea!
The picture of you at the end? TOTALLY Ben.
Very sweet post.